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Getting Started with Latvian Research

I’ll admit, this post is long overdue. It should have been one of the first posts on this blog. But it is here now!

For the purposes of this post, I am assuming several things. The main assumption is that you have utilized all of the records in the place where your Latvian ancestor migrated to – naturalization documents, death certificates, etc. I am also assuming that you are familiar with what different types of records contain – for example, that you know what you can expect to find on a census record versus a passenger ship list. All fonds numbers mentioned for records are from the Central Fonds Register of the Latvian Archives (a “fonds” is a collection of related documents).

So let’s begin!

Step 1:Do you know where in Latvia your ancestor was born? If YES, go to step 6. If NO, go to step 2.

Step 2:When did your ancestor emigrate from Latvia? In the POST-WORLD WAR 2 PERIOD, go to step 3. In the INTER-WAR PERIOD, go to step 4. PRIOR TO 1920, go to step 5.

Step 3: Consult DP camp records – you can write to the International Tracing Service (discussed in this blog post) for more information. When you have found a birthplace, move to step 6.

Step 4: If your ancestor emigrated from Latvia in the inter-war period, they could be found on passenger lists, most often departing from German ports such as Hamburg or Bremerhaven, but some people emigrated via the United Kingdom. You can also consult Latvian passport collections for major cities (fond 2996 for Rīga, other cities fond 2258), to see if your ancestor lived in one of them. Passports will list place of birth. Numerous emigration records and passport applications for the interwar period also exist. When you have found a birthplace, move on to step 6.

Step 5: If your ancestor emigrated from Latvia prior to 1920, you can consult passenger ship lists as above for step 4. If they immigrated to Canada, consult the Li-Ra-Ma collection, which documents immigrants from the Russian Empire between 1898 and 1922, including numerous Latvians. The Li-Ra-Ma website mentions that the National Archives in the USA has a similar collection. The Li-Ra-Ma collection website includes digital images of the immigrant files. When you have found your ancestor’s birthplace, move on to step 6.

Step 7:Contact the registry office of the municipality. When you have learned all you can from these records, go to step 8. [Update October 2013: It looks like the Registry Office Archives of the Ministry of Justice is handling all inquiries after 1910, with the exception of the City of Rīga after 1921, which is still handled by the local office. See Step 8 for the Registry Office Archives.]

Step 8: Contact the Registry Office Archives of the Ministry of Justice in Rīga (in Latvian only), who hold BMD (birth, marriage, death) records from 1909/1910 (some records for 1906-1908 will also be held here, depending on the municipality and how their records are bound, see note on step 9). When you have learned all that you can from the records available there, go to step 9.

Step 9: Consult religious records, available online at Raduraksti. These resources will provide basic birth/marriage/death records. The records are organized by year and type of record. Records could be in Latvian, German, Russian or Hebrew (for Jewish records). [Update July 2010: Most records from 1905 to 1909 have been transferred to the Latvian State Historical Archives, who are responsible for Raduraksti. They have not yet been added to the website, but hopefully will be soon. Until they are, you will need to contact the LSHA directly.] If you get stuck, brick walled or want to consult other sources for more information, go to step 10.

Step 10: Religious records (and later civil registration records) will form the backbone of your research, but sometimes the records don’t exist anymore, or you want to find additional information about your ancestors that doesn’t appear in those kinds of records. In this case, you will want to consult other records that are available – from 1920 to 1945, go to step 11. From 1890 to 1920, go to step 12. Prior to 1890, go to step 13.

Step 11: A wealth of documents from the independence era can be found in the Latvian State Historical Archives. Examples: The 1935 Census (fonds 1308, abstract 12), the 1941 Census (fonds 1308, abstract 15), civil servant employment files (judicial -fonds 1536, police -fonds 5604, I’m sure files for other departments exist as well, but these are the ones I have utilized) and house books (Rīga -fonds 2942, other cities -fonds 2110). For an earlier time period, go to step 12.

Step 12: In this time period, important records available are military records and the All-Russia Census of 1897, however they can be less complete than more recent records. The records for Latvian parishes for the All-Russia Census of 1897 can be found online on Raduraksti. Military records vary in quality and depth of information, I have utilized them only briefly. They appear to be organized in the archives by the specific division of the military. I would recommend searching by the words “pulks” (regiment). Many of these records date from the Latvian wars of independence, but it might be possible to find other types of military records as well. During part of the Russian Empire period, it was mandatory for men to register for military service at the age of 21, and many parishes have their local muster rolls available. For earlier time periods, go to step 13.

Step 13: It is at this point when completeness and variety of records starts to become extremely dependant on individual civil parishes. Some parishes have large numbers of surviving records, while other have few to none. It always pays to consult neighbouring parish records as well, just in case. To find what might be in civil parish records, search for “pagasta valde” (parish council) or “pagasta tiesa” (parish court), and then look for the parish name you want. You can also search by parish name to find what other records could exist. Due to various Latvian noun cases, I would recommend, when searching by parish name, that you leave off the ending (for example, search “Limbaž” instead of “Limbaži”), since the case form can influence what records are found. Another useful source are the “revision lists”, which list members of various communities, and could provide more detailed information, depending on the purpose of the list. Revision lists for Latgale are at fonds 1881, Vidzeme at fonds 199, Kurzeme (which includes modern-day Zemgale province) at fonds 630. Some revision lists are available on Raduraksti – at time of writing, these are lists pertaining to the towns of Bauska, Grobiņa, Jaunjelgava, Jēkabpils and Jelgava. [Update: All revision lists appear to be online. Though unfortunately for Latgale, there are very few surviving lists from this time period.]

Unless mentioned otherwise, these records are only available at the Latvian State Historical Archives (LVVA) in Rīga, Latvia. To access the records in the archives reading room, it is necessary to register for a reading room pass. I would recommend doing this by email in advance of your visit. When you request materials, it may take a few days for the material to be located and made available for you, so plan your visit accordingly. The staff are extremely helpful, so do not be afraid to ask for help. However, not all of the staff speak English, but most do speak German and/or Russian. All speak Latvian. Visiting the archives is free, but copies cost money, and the cost can vary depending on shape and age of the documents. When I visited the LVVA in December, I spent about 80 lati ($150, £100) on copies. It was worth it! The copies are also annotated with the fonds number, abstract number and item number.

I hope this helps you formulate your research plan. As always, if you need any help, or have any questions, just ask!

69 thoughts on “Getting Started with Latvian Research”

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PLADERS, Riga. I hope you are well and have some more answers than you did last August. May I suggest you try Face Book Page – Latvians Living in Australia. You have to join the group. It is worth sending your questions there as they are all very helpful. It could take a while as the word gets around so be patient.

So sorry for the loss of your father. I think you will be amazed when you find out the Latvian Displaced Persons story.
On the NAA site you can also pay to see/get a copy of records which include photos and hand written documents from the IRO, the camps, and the Latvian refugees (family) themselves. It can bring tears, then understanding, then pride and maybe one day a trip to Latvia which is now being called the most beautiful city in Europe and is the European Capital of Culture 2014. Best wishes.

I tried several months back to utilize the records in the Rudichi (pardon the misspelling). They were very difficult to discern and not knowing the language did not help either.

I did appreciate your previous comments and wonder if you can direct me to someone who does research in Latvia (for hire).

Here is what you wrote to me before:
Based on the names of his father and mother, he was most probably
Latvian, and would have then spoken Latvian as well. Krisch (Krišs in
modern Latvian spelling) is a Latvian name. I found the record in the
Dubulti church’s Latvian congregation. Jaundubulti is the Latvian name
for New Dubbeln. It is now a part of the city of Jurmala.

It is likely that further records for his family can be found further
in the Dubulti church records. You can view them at:

Hi, my name is Omar Maury Laurentowicz and I am looking for imformation about the way to find the birth record of my grandmother who was born in Daugavpils on june 15th 1916. Her name was Estefania or Stefanija, daugther of Vincent Zascerinskis (1883-1925) and Paulina Romuals ( ? – 1941).

My mother was born in Riga. Her name was Irmgarde Grandbergs (b 10-17-10). Her surname was Grandbergs but I do not see that surname listed.
She was the daughter of Marija Jakobsons (born 1-2-1873)and Krisjanis Grandbergs (or Grandsbergs) (born 4-6-1857).He was the last of 7 children. Marija’s parents were Anna Zarins and ? Jakobsons. Krisjanis mother’s name was Dore Apinis. Do not have the father’s given name.
Irmgarde had a sister Zigride married to Jakobs (Likis) Arnis and had 1 son Uldis.

Also my stepfather was Maksis Culitis (b 4-9-1911)and I do not see his surname listed. He was a published author ,his pen name was Martins Darums. He was a regular columnist for Laiks in Canada.
Can you have these names added.

I am especially confused about the the d or the m means after a name and do both of those last two names belong to these people or is it a father’s name or something.
This simple thing would greatly help my research!!!
Thanks!!
Ana Zekants

My parents, Voldemars & Ilze Rieksts, I along with brothers/sisters & grandparents lived on Simani farm near Grobina. We escaped in 1944 via ship (the Gotenhafen)from Liepaja. I am interested in finding family genealogy that is missing.

Hello. I just found your site and I was looking at the Surname list that is posted. I have a couple of questions. I noticed that there are no names that start with “W”. Is there no “W” in the Latvian alphabet? I am also looking for relatives of my 2x GG Mother who all I know is listed as living in Riga, Latvia prior to 1914. I was told that she still have family in Riga, but her surname – Brownfield was not listed in the surname list either? Would there be an alternate spelling for this family name? I would like to try and get in touch with her family to learn more about her. Would you be able to provide any additional information?

My husbands parents left Riga on 23/5/1951 on the ship Skaubryn bound for Australia, they where married in Riga.
Names: Leon Saurins and Nina (Nuna) Saurins née Arens.
Any information regarding their births and marriage would be helpful.

I have just started tracing my family and already have come to an halt. My Father’s name was Peteris Bartkevics and he was born in Dagda on the 22.6.1920. His father’s name was also Peteris Bartkevics and his mother’s maiden name was Marija Navarskis but no date of birth or place of birth for either is known.
My mother’s maiden name was Sofija Silakovs and she was born 1.8.1922 in Rezekne. Her father’s name was Nikolais and her mother’s name Marianna Senkans but again no date of birth or place or birth for either is known.
Both my parents left Germany as Displaced Persons for New Zealand on the Helenic Prince in 1950.
I was born in Lubeck and my brother in Neustadt. Do any of the above names mean anything to anyone – any assistance much appreciated. Thank you.

I am looking for my mother’s ancestors who lived in Riga. Their last name was Venta or Vent. Her mothers name was Alida and her sisters name was Beurita. Beurita married with the name of Timofejiva. Thank you for any help.

I am trying to do my family tree on my fathers side from Latvia, but finding it very difficult.
The surnames I have are Veiksans, Birkmanis, and Azis (not sure on the spelling of this one).
I am in the United States and know my grandparents came over in 1951 on a boat from Germany,
Any help and or leads you could give would be great.

Fritz Tscheekar: Pope parish, born 1881. Baptized at Pope-Angermunde Lutheran Church. Merchant marine school in Ventspils (Windau then). Emigrated 1906 on ship Astral from Yokohama to Honolulu, then to San Francisco. Married Mary Johnson, lived in Berkeley. Died in 1944.

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